Women and girls have been urged to go for regular cervical cancer screening to enable early diagnosis and timely treatment.
Speaking at the Kajiado County Referral Hospital during an event to mark the National Cervical Cancer Awareness month, Deputy Governor Martin Moshisho noted that cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in reproductive-aged women globally.
Moshisho revealed that many women were at risk of infection and regular screening was the only way to detect cervical cancer and enable its treatment.
He emphasized the need to eliminate stigma surrounding cancer, as it hinders timely diagnosis and treatment, particularly for prevalent cancers like cervical and breast cancer.
“I want to urge all women to avail themselves for cervical cancer screening so as to save lives. Cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable forms of cancer, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively,” he said.
The Deputy Governor reiterated the county government’s commitment to providing quality health services to residents, adding that all county hospitals were now fully equipped and cancer screening and treatment was available at the facilities.
The County governor’s spouse Edna Lenku noted that very few women were availing themselves for cancer screening at the health facilities due to fear and stigma.
She noted that a cancer was not a death sentence and is treatable when detected at its early stages, thus all women must go for regular screening so as to save lives.
“We have over 50,000 women in Kajiado at the reproductive age, but only 9500 have been screened for cervical cancer at our facilities. We want to encourage all women to undergo screening so as to enable proper diagnosis,” said Mrs. Lenku.
The governor’s spouse further called on girls aged between 10-14 years to ensure that they are fully vaccinated against Human papilloma virus (HPV) so as to protect themselves from cervical cancer.
Margaret Masaba, a health care worker, echoed Mrs. Lenku’s sentiments, adding that many women do not avail themselves for cancer screening due to fear and varied traditional beliefs.
Masaba noted that the belief that cancer is a death sentence or is caused by witchcraft has made many people to shy away from screening and there was need to sensitize the public on the importance of frequent screening as it enables early detection and treatment.
She added that cervical cancer can be prevented by having one sexual partner. Multiple sex partners put one at risk as men are spreaders, yet they do not contract the disease.
Priscilla Mwai, a cancer survivor noted that cervical cancer is the second most common in the world contributing to half a million new cases and over 300,000 deaths annually.
Most of these cases, she said, occur in Africa and other low and middle-income countries
Mwai emphasized that cancer was treatable if detected at an early stage. She called on women to undergo frequent cancer screening so as to curb the surging cases of cancer in the country.
By Rop Janet
